Palyica e ys fedr oui
by AbsintheJade21
Summary: Because I am with you. Takes place after Auron's death. Auron watches Rikku from the farplane as she goes to visit him. Aurikku. Complete!
1. Auron

I don't own Auron, Rikku, or Final Fantasy X, although I wish I did. Huzzah for the Auron's sexiness and the Aurikku pairing!

Palyica e ys fedr oui- Because I am with you

Auron

One of the first things he had noticed upon arriving in the Farplane was that his sword was no longer heavy. Often, on his second pilgrimage, he would wonder if anyone noticed that, from time to time, that the legendary guardian used his sword to lean on as he'd attempted to collect himself after battle. He had promised Jecht, after all, even if his upstart son had taunted, "Don't break any bones, old man."

Auron smirked and easily sliced the air with his Masamune. "Legendary guardian…heh," his raspy voice echoed in the silence of the Farplane.

At Djose Temple, back on the pilgrimage, a guardian had asked to shake his hand. He couldn't even remember this awestruck young man's name, although he did remember an abundance of muscles displayed. The young man had then told his summoner, a pretty but vicious-looking woman, that he would never wash his hands again.

Auron laughed. It was a deep, throaty chuckle that he hadn't heard in many years. He wondered if the young guardian had realized he was shaking hands with a dead man. Probably not. In that young man's mind, legendary guardians didn't die.

The ground beneath Auron's feet shifted, and he suddenly found himself hovering above the Guado Farplane, one of the many windows through which the sent could view the living. He himself had never been called. Auron hoped this meant that all of his traveling companions had found new, fruitful ways of living.

His mind immediately drifted to fall on the memories of the youngest member in his traveling party. Auron often found himself thinking of the annoying slip of an Al Bhed that Jecht's son, his charge, had found washed up on the shores of the Moonflow. The beautiful, vivacious girl, who had shown more flesh than was decent for a fifteen year-old.

He laughed again. His throat rasped from lack of use. Auron remembered the day he had left her. She had thrown herself on the ground, sobbing, as the pyreflies had slowly carried him away.

Auron sighed slowly to himself. Out of all of guardians in the traveling party, she was the one he hoped for. She was the one that he wanted to see, wanted to help succeed. Auron smiled as he coughed, and laughed. This time it was dry and bitter, as the laugh he was more accustomed to hearing slipped from his lips.

"Pace yourself, Auron," he mimicked Tidus's words sarcastically, as he looked down at the small platform that the living stood on to converse with the dead. He reached for his flask and took a slow sip of whiskey, allowing the taste to linger on his tongue. Strapping his sword to his side, he turned to walk towards the waterfalls, when something caught his eye.

A small woman was standing at the edge of the Farplane, just outside of the barrier. Auron could make out her petite shape. It was almost as if thinking about her had conjured her up out of thin air. He narrowed his eye and studied her, smirking rogueishly. If anything, Rikku was wearing less clothing than she had on Yuna's pilgrimage. He sat down on a rock, smiling genuinely as he watched her tentatively reach her hand slowly through the barrier.


	2. Rikku

There are a lot of stories about Rikku visiting the Farplane to see Auron, but I don't think any address how terrified and reluctant she would be. That's what I tried to accomplish in this story.

I still don't own anything except the plot of this story…damn!

Palyica e ys fedr oui - Because I am with you

Rikku

Rikku was quickly re-evaluating her least favorite locations in Spira. She had once thought that no place could be more horrifying than the Gandof Thunder Plains; however, as she edged her way into Guadosalam, she realized that the Guado city was far more terrifying than the Thunder Plains could ever hope to be.

On the plains, Rikku knew what to expect; thunder, lightning, and an abundance of fiends. Here in Guadosalam, the hostile atmosphere was subtle, but immediately apparent to the small Al Bhed girl. She could feel the stares of the Guado as she hesitantly walked slowly up the path. Possessing a rather straightforward, sometimes tactless, manner herself, Rikku preferred to see her opponent clearly. As the stares continued, Rikku found herself continuously looking around in her paranoia, almost as if she was waiting for Seymour to jump out from behind the old gnarled tree roots and strangle her to death.

Sighing, Rikku rubbed her arms nervously, and shuddered. The air was damp, heavy, and filled with the cloying perfume that the Guado used to bathe themselves in. Moisture droplets formed and beaded on Rikku's skin as she slowly continued to put one foot in front of the other. To the outside observer, it may have looked like the petite Al Bhed was going to her own execution and not somewhere of her own free will. She looked down to avoid the small brackish puddles that often collected on the ground.

"You'd better be worth all this, old man," Rikku muttered under her breath as she inched her way up the path to the Farplane. As she reached the steps that led up to the viewing platform, she stopped. Through the mist, haze, and sickly-sweet perfume she could detect another faint, but very familiar scent.

"Auron…" she said as she breathed in the musty, almost smoky, smell. She paused and ran her fingers over the smooth, knotted wood of the steps. 'Memories are nice, but that's all they are,' she remembered herself saying. If she hadn't been so nervous to begin with, she might have reflected on how big of a hypocrite she was.

Instead, Rikku bravely drew herself up to her full height, which was not very imposing to begin with and charged for the Farplane barrier at a run. After all, she'd always been one of those act first, think later types, right?

"As a matter of fact," she thought, coming to an abrupt halt in front of the barrier, "that's one of the things that we had in common." Rikku stood before the barrier a moment, thinking back on Auron's barely concealed impulsiveness as she tapped her chin with her hand.

"Well," she continued to talk to herself, earning the angry stare of the Guado guard, "I'll just have to be more impulsive, like him!" She cheered and danced a moment by herself before regarding the barrier again. She poked it tentatively with her finger and watched as the multicolored light bent and shook, rippling across the barrier in small waves. Gritting her teeth she put both hands forward and stumbled across the barrier.


	3. Memories

Firstly, I want to thank everyone who has reviewed my story. It's really nice to know that people are reading what you're writing.

Secondly, the copyrights to FFX are not owned by me, but by Square Enix and I'm sure a few other companies.

Palyica e ys fedr oui- Because I am with you

Memory

Auron watched as Rikku tripped into the Farplane, cursing loudly in Al Bhed as she fell. He couldn't help but laugh. The girl had always been a walking disaster.

She looked nervously around at the other patrons, who had all sent admonishing glares and gasps in her direction. Auron couldn't be sure if it was because she had tripped, or because her skimpy outfit screamed 'Al Bhed,' much like the obscenities that had left her mouth a moment earlier. He listened as the Kilika barmaid next to her muttered, 'heathen,' before returning to her conversation with her father.

Auron's eyes narrowed angrily. Even a year after Yevon's downfall, it seemed as if the church still had a strong grasp on the Spiran populace. He shook his head and took a long swig from his hip flask. The amber liquid tingled and burned his throat.

He knew why Rikku had come to the Farplane, although frankly, he was surprised. Auron had hoped, for her sake, that she had moved on with her life after his death. He had also assumed that she would.

Rikku had been the one to say, "Memories are nice, but that's all they are. I keep my memories inside." Auron remembered this well. On that day, outside the Farplane, they had conversed with each other for the first time.

Auron genuinely laughed. His deep throaty chuckle burned a bit less. What he remembered from that day was not a conversation as much as an interrogation.

"So how come you're not going in? Don't have any family you'd like to see?" she'd began.

"……………"

"Don't tell me it's because you don't believe in Yevon! I know you're a monk…or a priest or something right?"

Auron had dryly laughed. "I was."

"So aren't you one of those hardcore Yevonites who needs to see their dead? OOOh! OR, did you piss of some of the higher-ups and now have fallen from grace? OOHHH! OR, are you just afraid of ghosts, like Tidus?" Rikku's voice had gotten louder and louder at every syllable spoken. Auron winced at the memory.

He remembered wanting to push her off the knotted tree railing at some point, but she had kept on talking, and talking, and talking, until the rest of their party had reappeared.

"So, why didn't you go in?" he remembered asking through gritted teeth.

Rikku had shrugged. "I dunno. I just don't believe in all that stuff, you know? I mean, maybe it's good for Yunie to see her parents, and then maybe she'll feel better about, I dunno, her pilgrimage and stuff. Although I hope they don't tell her to marry Maester Seymour," she had added under her breath before continuing. "I love my family, and I honor my dead family members, but I keep it in here." Rikku had pointed to her heart. "I don't need to look beyond myself to figure out that they loved me."

Auron had been taken aback. In hindsight, he was sure that his face had shown his shock at such a profound and caring statement from such a young girl. However, he had forgotten all about what Rikku had said moments later when Lord Jyscal had appeared at the barrier.

Suddenly, Auron felt a strange pull on his body. Pyreflies began to gather and swirl around him, screaming their haunting melody.


	4. Reunion

So, I'm pretty sure that this is the final chapter of this story. I still don't own FFX, which is too bad, really, but what are you going to do?

I'm starting another, much longer, story which will act as a prequel to this one. It'll explain a lot about Auron's past and how he and Rikku fell in love with each other on Yuna's pilgrimage. /shameless plug 

Long live Aurikku, huzzah!

Palyica e ys fedr oui- Because I am with you

Reunion

Rikku shot the brown-haired Kilika barmaid a scathing look. It wasn't her fault that she didn't know how to act in the Farplane. Frankly, she still wasn't completely sure that she should have come here in the first place.

Nervously, Rikku looked around the small platform. She wasn't sure if she should kneel or something. Rikku didn't know all that much about Yevon except that they had sent summoners on a pilgrimage to sacrifice themselves for the good of Spira. At least, they had until her cousin had figured out Yevon's scam and defeated him once and for all!

Rikku spun around in a victory motion before realizing that, once again, people were staring at her in a not-so-nice fashion. She stuck out her tongue, ignored the latest round of gasps, and walked to an empty spot on the edge of the platform.

"Okay," she whispered to herself. "Here goes."

She decided to kneel because it seemed like the right thing to do. Wakka had always knelt while he was doing something church-y. Rikku nodded and closed her eyes.

"Hmmph…You won't be able to see me if your eyes are closed."

Rikku screamed and stood up. A slightly transparent projection of Auron was floating in front of her. He was smirking.

"Yes," he continued, "Scream. Because people in here don't think you're insane enough already."

Rikku narrowed her eyes at him before turning away to address the few people who were on the platform.

"Just so you all know," she glared, "this is a very traumatic experience!" She sniffed and then turned back to Auron. She cocked her head in confusion. She could hear him laughing, but his mouth wasn't moving.

"How are you doing that?" she said, slightly awestruck. Auron simply looked at her.

"This is how you communicate with people on the Farplane. You don't have to actually talk to me. Just think of what you want to say. I'll hear you."

"Creepy," Rikku replied aloud. Auron shook his head and laughed again. It wasn't the dry and bitter laugh that Rikku was used to.

"You're scaring me old man," she said. "So…uhhh…." She stammered, suddenly awkward. "How's being dead treating you? Although," she mused, mostly to herself, "You were already kind of, dead, weren't you?"

Auron simply laughed again.

"Well…uh..okay," Rikku said. "I guess I'll just tell you about my life." Auron nodded and sat down in midair, a smile on his face.

"So," she said brightly, "We've been traveling around on the Celsius. Me, Brother, Shinra, and this woman Paine. You'd like her a lot, Auron," Rikku said, lowering her voice for emphasis. "You know, she's the strong, silent type, like you. She's kind of weird too. I think she has kind of a dark past, like you."

Auron laughed. "I don't have that dark of a past."

Rikku scowled at him. "Listen, old man," she said, shaking her finger at him, "you knew all along what was going to happen and you never told us! Not only that but you were walking around all corpsified and stuff and you didn't even tell us that!"

He smiled at her. It was a genuine smile that made his good eye brightly sparkle with humor. "You wouldn't have wanted me to tell you."

"How do you know!" Rikku yelled. "I…I…ugh!" she yelled and collapsed onto the ground. "You didn't give me warning, you know?" she said quietly. Her shoulders shook as sobs began to shudder through her small body.

Concerned, Auron knelt beside her and took off his large, red jacket. "I can't touch you," he said, "but take this."

Pyreflies eerily screamed around Rikku as she felt the heavy jacket settle on her shoulders. She sniffed. "I just, miss you, you know?" she said.

"I know."

"But you…um…I mean you look almost…happy," she said. "So I guess you really did…want to die."

"I look happy," he said, "palyica e ys fedr oui."

Rikku gasped and then raised her red-rimmed eyes to look up into his face. She smiled, and pulled his coat tightly around her body.

"Because I am with you," she said.


End file.
